Trade tops agenda at CTEA conference

The Canadian Transportation Equipment Association is holding its 55th annual manufacturers’ technical conference this October in the country’s largest city.

The conference, which has a theme of Interconnectivity is the Key, will again bring together vocational truck and trailer manufacturers, dealers, service providers and suppliers.

It takes place Oct. 22-24 at The Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto’s Don Valley area, about 10 miles north of downtown and the landmark CN Tower.

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Don Moore, the CTEA’s director of government and industry, said organizers are aiming for participation from 125 companies and around 200 delegates - a significant increase over the last conference

Don Moore, the CTEA’s director of government and industry, said organizers are aiming for participation from 125 companies at the conference and around 200 delegates.

“It’s a significant increase is what we’re shooting for,” Moore said. “And a lot of focus on the (CTEA) board reaching out as well as staff to encourage folks to come out to this one.”

In Toronto’s favor is that it’s a major transportation hub with flights “from virtually anywhere in Canada,” Moore said.

Keynote focuses on NAFTA

CTEA now has about 510 members, around 70 of them U.S.-based companies.

The keynote speaker will be Rona Ambrose, former leader of Canada’s federal Conservative Party and of the Official Opposition in the country’s House of Commons. Before that when the Conservatives were in power, she served as a key member of the federal cabinet for nearly a decade, from February 2006 to November 2015.

Among her current activities, Ambrose is a global fellow at the Wilson Centre Canada Institute in

The keynote by Rona Ambrose will focus on NAFTA negotiations

Washington, D.C., and was recently named to the Advisory Council on the North American Free Trade Agreement, notes her biography on the CTEA conference website.

Her speech — at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 23 — will focus on NAFTA negotiations, according to the conference schedule.

The closing keynote speaker will be Andrew Leslie, a retired lieutenant-general who serves as parliamentary secretary for Canada-U.S. relations to Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland in Canada’s current Liberal Party government. Leslie speaks at noon on Wednesday. The conference opens with a board of directors meeting from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22. A town hall meeting follows from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m. The opening night closes with a welcome reception and table top technical trade fair from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 23 will begin with a president’s breakfast and annual general meeting. Other Tuesday sessions include an expert panel on tariffs, a trailer forum, and concurrent updates from chassis original equipment manufacturers.

Moore said he is most looking forward to the session on trade, which is topical considering the tariff war between the U.S. and Canada that erupted in June.

“A lot of uncertainty”

“There is a lot of uncertainty as to what the effects will be,” Moore said. “I’ve had everything from I just may have to shut operations down because I can’t afford to change my pricing enough.”

Manufacturers of tanker trailers, for example, often require food-grade stainless steel or aluminum that is only available from the U.S. Fortunately, after lobbying by CTEA members, the Canadian government removed those items from its list of retaliatory tariffs. On the other hand, Moore said that despite the Canadian government announcing $1.7 billion in aid to Canadian steel and aluminum producers, the mills “are already socking it to end users in Canada.”

Moore, whose office is in Windsor across the border from Detroit, said he hasn’t noticed a drop yet in cross-border trade. But he expects it’s only a matter time before that happens and prices start to rise.

“It’s so tempting for some companies to try to take advantage of it early to bump their prices because of the expectation that the supply is going to drop,” said Moore, who stressed that he was voicing personal opinions and not necessarily the positions of the CTEA board.

Other sessions already scheduled for Tuesday include ones on new Canadian regulations for electronic stability control systems for heavy vehicles, new products presentations, and gala reception and VIP awards ceremony. The latter takes place at the Weston Family Innovation Centre at the Ontario Science Centre, about three miles south of the Westin Prince Hotel.

Session topics on Wednesday include amendments to the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, an update on heavy-duty greenhouse gas regulations, and the state of global trade.

Early bird registration closed Aug. 25. Delegates are asked to book their rooms before Sept. 19, which is the cut-off date for the CTEA’s room block. The association has secured a special rate of $189.